Former ’Cats volleyball coach Moore leads Oregon into first national title appearance

December 15, 2012

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Texas and Oregon each has reason to believe it is a team of destiny Saturday night in the NCAA women's volleyball championship.

The third-seeded Longhorns (28-4) have earned their second title-game appearance in four years, hoping to claim their first national championship since 1998. They overcame a 2-1 deficit to beat Michigan - coached by Northern Michigan University's 1994 National Championship bench boss Mark Rosen - in five sets Thursday night in the semifinals and now aim to close the deal after blowing a 2-0 lead against Penn State in the 2009 final.

Oregon (30-4), coached by the man who guided the Wildcats to their first NCAA title in 1993 in Jim Moore, will be making its championship debut after a four-set upset victory over top-seeded Penn State. While that outcome stunned many who believed the Nittany Lions were a championship lock, the fifth-seeded Ducks always believed they could do it and are eager to continue that roll for one more game.

Facing a 33-2 Nittany Lions team that had lost just one set in the tournament entering Thursday's semifinal, the Ducks shook off a 25-21, first-set loss and swept the next three - the last two in surprisingly easy fashion.

The second set marked the turning point as Oregon jumped to a 20-10 lead before Penn State rallied with a 14-4 run to tie the set. The Ducks then faced three set points before tying each time and eventually winning the last two for a 30-28 victory.

Oregon trailed just once after that.

"I think they've had that all along," Moore said of his team's poise. "They'll do whatever it is, not just physical work. When we lost last year, they knew it wasn't a physical thing; they knew it was an emotional, mental thing. They worked real hard. That's the hardest thing to work on in sport."

Oregon ended up winning most statistical areas as a result. The Ducks topped the Nittany Lions in kills (63-52), digs (80-67) and posted six service aces and just one error.

Three Oregon players had double-doubles including Liz Brenner (17 kills, 17 digs), Katherine Fischer (16, 12) and Alaina Bergsma (16, 15), who selected the national player of the year Friday by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

"The great thing about Thursday night is that we weren't at our best and really didn't play very well," said setter Haley Jacob, who had 20 digs. "There were a lot of things that we could have done much better. If we do those things much better, that's what we need to carry over into tomorrow's game."

The late finish of Thursday's match didn't allow Oregon much time to celebrate beating Penn State, which Moore considered a good thing. While this has been the Ducks' most successful season by far, they're still a match away from achieving the destiny they've always dreamed of.

"We just need to play," Moore said. "We have to take all the things they throw at us and do what we've done all year long, which is playing our opponent.

"We will defend them in the way we feel is the best way to defend them. We'll attack them in a way we feel is the best way to attack them and we'll play hard. When the match is over, we'll see what happens."